Warning: way too damn long post ahead. Sorry (truly, I am), but I couldn't break this one up in a way that made sense. Go make your phone calls now and grab a soda—this may take a while.
In my last post I mentioned discovering the work of Saitoh Takumi and Kato Kazuki. While they both have considerably extensive careers for their age (27 and 24 respectively), they co-starred in a few stage musicals based on the Prince of Tennis series from Shonen Jump. (I actually saw Saitoh in other projects first and backtracked to his work in this musical, but I'm mentioning Prince of Tennis first for reasons I'll discuss in my next post.)
Prince of Tennis, simply put, is a manga series that's been adapted into an anime, countless Drama CDs, a movie, and several live musicals/concerts. The main focus, at least originally, was on 12-year-old tennis prodigy Echizen Ryoma and his struggle to rise in the ranks of Seishun Gakuen's (Seigaku for short) prestigious tennis club. Since then, it's grown to encompass a much larger cast of characters from rival schools across Japan: Fudomine, St. Rudolph, Hyotei, Yamabuki, Rokkoku and a slew of others, all of whom regularly have tennis matches against Seigaku and each other.
The truth is I don't even LIKE Prince of Tennis in general. I'm not a fan of sports-related series, and I doubt I ever will be. I never felt the need to read the manga, and I never got past episode 3 of the anime. Even now I'm in no rush to read or watch the series. Nor am I a fan of the anime-turned-musical formula, and I've stayed far away from any musicals connected to Bleach, Naruto and Sailor Moon. (Especially Sailor Moon.)
But there's just something about the Prince of Tennis musicals (nicknamed “Tenimyu” by its fans) and the correlating Dream Live concerts that's quite compelling. It's really embarrassing just how much I've come to enjoy the Tenimyu productions I've seen. The music is actually good, the acting is believable, and the characters are three-dimensional. Seriously, it's addicting.
I came across the subbed version of “Imperial Match in Winter” featuring the characters from Seigaku and Hyotei; at first I resisted watching it, despite the fact Saitoh was in it, just on principle alone. Still, my insatiable curiosity won out and I downloaded it. Saitoh Takumi plays Hyotei's blue-haired, spectacle-wearing genius Oshitari Yuushi, while Kato Kazuki plays Hyotei's talented (and astonishingly arrogant) team captain Atobe Keigo.
My interest in the show itself comes from a few sources. First, each Tenimyu production is truly an “ensemble cast” in every sense of the word, something that's practically unheard of in America these days. Although the hero is technically Echizen Ryoma, the PoT universe is so vast it encompasses many other characters, each with their own unique personality quirks and tennis-related skill. For example, there's Inui, who systematically collects data on his opponents to use against them; Kawamura, whose entire personality suddenly changes whenever he touches a tennis racket; and Atobe, who can almost psychically detect his opponent's weakness just by placing his fingers between his eyes. Each character has a fully fleshed-out personality and background, which makes them more interesting to watch.
For this reason, there are no “filler” characters in the musical—they all have a reason for being there, and some of those reasons are explored onstage. Echizen doesn't even appear for most of the performance. Even the so-called bit parts in each production feature characters who had much larger roles in the other shows. Everyone's role in the show is equally important, truly making it a group effort. While there are ensemble casts in American musicals, rarely will they ever get the chance to stand out in such a way.
Up front, I can honestly say most of the actors weren't hired because they could sing, which seems ironic for a musical. Saitoh certainly can, but by far the most powerful singers were Kato Kazuki and Shirota Yuu (Tezuka)—which is probably why they ended up playing the two team captains and getting the most solo lines in the songs. Many of the others seem to have been cast more because of their acting skills than their voice; at first I actually wondered why Yanagi Kotaroh was cast as Echizen Ryoma since it looked like he couldn't move OR sing, but after reading this article on Wikipedia I'm simply amazed he was alive and well enough to walk, let alone perform onstage.
Still, what the actors lack in singing range, they make up for with an honest, unmitigated passion. They truly valued their roles, and you certainly see that. As someone who's observed a great number of the cookie-cutter musicals on Broadway where many actors phoned in their performances, the raw energy and enthusiasm I see coming from every member of the Tenimyu cast is quite refreshing.
For a musical based on a manga, it surprisingly builds tension at all the right moments. Not every live production is able to have that constant progression to the climax/denouement, although I guess it's easier for a sports-based show that leads to a “final showdown” than for others.
Although the school that PoT mainly focuses on is Seigaku, while I greatly admire Tezuka's steadfast determination and Fuji's unshakable composure, I must admit I'm very much a Hyotei fan at heart. The Hyotei cast had me by the second rendition of “Koori no Emporer”; I'm pretty sure that would have happened even if Saitoh didn't play Oshitari.
Not that anyone is likely to care, but I found my absolute favorite number to be “Ikki uchi”, the duet between Tezuka and Atobe towards the end of Imperial Match in Winter. I've always had a weakness for reprisals of earlier songs that manage to harmonize seamlessly with each other, especially when they're sung by two opposing characters who each have everything on the line. Other favorites include “Do Your Best”, “Data wa uso wo tsukanai yo”, “Yudan sezu ni ikou”, “Koori no Emporer”, and “Katsu no wa Hyotei”.
So why is PoT considered a staple in the BL world? Well, considering the sheer number of male characters alone, it was probably a given from the very beginning. Even though the series itself isn't geared towards BL, a cast like that would certainly invite it.
And supposedly the fans already consider two particular relationships to be canon romances: Oishi/Eiji from Seigaku and Shishido/Choutarou from Hyotei. However, as I've witnessed even in non-slashable shows like MASH, that doesn't stop fans from creating their own pairings. From the info I gleaned from Google, the most popular shippers by far seem to be Tezuka/Fuji, Ryoma/
There's quite a few Tenimyu productions out there if you're interested, although the only one I've seen subbed is the “Imperial Match in Winter” featuring Hyotei Gakuen (not to be confused with summertime's non-subbed “Imperial Match” with the same cast.) At the very least, try watching that production along with the subbed Dream Live Third concert to get a good idea of what it's all about. Even if you end up hating anything related to Tenimyu, it's good exposure into the world of Japanese live acting.
The following are links to the subbed Imperial Match in Winter. Note: I DID NOT UPLOAD THESE VIDEOS--they came from a LiveJournal website found here. He has a number of other PoT-related videos as well, along with several other Japanese dramas and anime.
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